Family centered care (FCC) encompasses the concept of parental participation in the care of their infants (Franck and Callery 2004). It aims to place the child's needs in the context of the family (Saunders et al 2003). FCC is adopted in many neonatal units and is considered the gold standard of care that aims to support and guide neonatal care towards partnership between healthcare professionals and parents (Hutchfield 1999). Following the disruption of the bonding process between child and family when a child is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), it is suggested that the NICU offers an ideal opportunity for FCC practice (Allerman Beck et al 2009 ) as nurses and parents are forced to develop an effective relationship to meet children's care needs (Reis et al 2009). However, a study by Higman & Shaw (2008) found that it appears to be more difficult to achieve in the neonatal unit as FCC depends on the family's relationship with the baby. To ensure effective FCC, neonatal nurses need to understand parents' needs and how to address them. Mundy (2010), in a study of family needs assessments in neonatal intensive care units, found that assumptions about parents' needs were often made by health care providers, resulting in unfounded and inappropriate conclusions. The importance of treating each family as an individual is critical when considering how best to involve parents in the care of their children (Higman & Shaw 2008). The literature review shows a lack of research on these assessments and highlights that improving family-centered care requires appropriate assessments of family needs and inclusion of these in individualized care plans. A study conducted by Higman and Shaw (2010) on nurses' perceptions of the provision of FCC supports this view. Throughout the study it is evident that although nurses understand the importance of FCC, it is not always consistent in their practice. Peterson et al (2004) suggest that the reasons for these inconsistencies may be a lack of adequate training and the stress that implementing FCC may place on nursing staff due to an already demanding workload, potentially creating negative attitudes towards the relevance and practical aspects of its provision. The FCC's consensus view is positive, although limitations to enforcement appear throughout the literature. It is suggested that staff shortages hinder FCC performance within the clinical area, creating time constraints with nurses having very few opportunities to build good relationships with families (Higman and Shaw 2008).